Nightly Reflections – Easter Sunday, 2024

For one whole week, we’d be able to wake up when we wanted, go to bed when we wanted, do just about anything we wanted before returning on that dreaded Monday where freedom once again went out the window for the daily grind of the career. And with each passing year, that grind felt more like a grind than it initially did. Well, for the kids and the adults tomorrow in District 196, it’s what they face as they go to bed tonight. I hope they all had a great break whatever that entailed. Little did I truly realize what that feeling was going to be like once I retired. Living life on one’s own terms is pretty much awesome. And I don’t think I have to convince anyone of that little statement. 🙂

Happy Happy Easter! I just finished cleaning up a little bit of a different breakfast for me than I normally would make for myself. I had a small but thick slice of ham, eggs and toast. Certainly I have had toast and eggs before, but I can’t think of a time I’ve ever thrown the ham slice in there. It was yummy and now the dishes are soaking. No dishwashing machine here. Just a dishwashing human 🙂 My sister and brother-in-law and his son all were out to an Easter brunch and so I was a little jealous and figured I should do something a little special for me too! My sister indicated after they were done she had a couple of Old Fashioneds which is something I did not do. She can drink a little earlier in the day than I can. lol

It’s 2:00 and I’m sitting here watching my Brewers in Game 3 with the Mets. They’ve won the first two so if they can beat their hosts today, it will be the first Brewers sweep of the season, and we fans hope there are many many more. it doesn’t look like it’s too nasty in New York. They have sunshine and people are in jackets but not looking like we did this past week as the snow flew. Tomorrow will be our only chance at moisture this week. By the weekend, we’re talking patio temps! Any time, we should start seeing restaurant and coffee shop patios begin to blossom. Won’t that be nice? I already told Tobes that in one more weekend, he could be sitting by a screen door that’s allowing the smells and sounds of nature to greet his senses. He seemed utterly thrilled. 🙂 Actually, there are times I think he understands me. The biggie is when he doesn’t eat all his food. He’s been picking away at both morning and evening meals, the wet food meals. This morning, I told him…”I’m not giving you your lunch if you don’t eat your breakfast.” Moments later, he’s out in the kitchen vacuuming up the remainder he had left earlier this morning. Too funny. Because he gets dry food for lunch, I never have to say anything there cuz he loves that stuff too much not to gobble it up in one sitting. At night, if he hasn’t eaten all his dinner when I am nearing the time I go to bed, I’ll tell him again…”If you don’t eat all your dinner, you’re not getting bedtime treats.” And voila! They disappear by the time I’ve brushed my teeth and deposited the drops in my eyes. So, tell me he doesn’t understand. lol

This morning, I was Mr. Productivity. I wanted to get those sheets into that new washer 🙂 Say nothing about the fact it was high time. lol I love when the sheets are clean and ON the bed. Putting them on is more difficult because of my hands with the arthritis. But, I manage. Normally, I might have thrown the sheets ON the bed from the dryer and decided I’d put them on later, only to discover later meant I’d forget until walking into the bedroom at midnight, only to find them still miraculously in a heap on the mattress cover! Imagine that. lol

Well, my Brewers won, sweeping the Mets in the first series of the season (YESYESYESYESYES!) and now we await the arrival of the Twins on Tuesday. Purdue won, a team I did not want to win, despite picking them in my brackets. One more game in the Elite Eight phase of the tournament and then we’re down to FOUR. The Final Four, to be specific. And those games are played next Saturday, I believe. Two of them. And the Monday after, the Championship game. But now I have baseball to delight me. It’s so nice to be able to watch all the games, despite living in this state versus the state of the team I love. Probably a good thing I paid that bill before this past week. lol

So, yesterday afternoon, when i was thinking I’d put a frozen pizza on the turntable and have that last night, I opened the fridge and something popped out at me! I totally forgot about the family pack of chicken thighs I had in the fridge that I kept telling myself, I’ll do those tomorrow. Well, the shelf life was yesterday so I figured I’d better prepare them last night. So, I tore off the skin, seasoned them and put them in a casserole dish and threw them in the over for over an hour. Eight chicken thighs will go a long way as the week begins. I know I don’t have to figure out dinner tonight cuz it’s already there. I’ll have some potatoes and a veggie and that will suffice. BY the time I’ve finished them all, I’ll be ready to ignore chicken thighs for a while. lol

My friends, in recent years, have learned that I love a good Jib Jab. I have a yearly subscription, which is dirt cheap, so I can have fun on holidays and some birthdays. Today is one of the days I try to remember those who might appreciate a Jib Jab. I sent a group one to my siblings. Another to a texting thread consisting of former RHS peeps. And so on and so forth. It’s a long list. And just when I think I can put the app to bed until the next event, I am reminded I should send one to so-and-so as well. I have had a lot of fun with the app and I hope that those who receive one at least chuckle and smile upon reception of one. Easy enough but they always have me giggling as I’m creating them for my friends and family.

Well, March is done and so am I. As I sit here at The Bucks, (I really needed a change of venue and fresh air), I am somewhat surprised it’s as dead quiet as it is, but kinda delighted by it as well. The parking lot looks like a ghost town. Some of the food places here are still operating, but not the two salons, for sure. MISTER Car Wash is close as is Byerly’s. Actually, I didn’t expect this place to be open, so I checked before I left, and the app indicated that all the Starbucks were open until early evening, so yes. I’m heading out. I shall finish this up and then read some of the latest book I bought, one I haven’t shared with you, but I will this week. It’s off to a very entertaining and snappy start. Another author I have read recommended it, and I checked it out and the premise had me buying it. So, watch for that this week.

I hope your weekend was a good one. Let’s hope for some rain tomorrow. We will continue to need moisture cuz we were cheated all winter. May your week be fast and simple. If you’re returning to work after the week off, I am sorry. 😦 But this too shall pass. Not only will it be another weekend soon, but soon you’ll be retired like me and the rest of us and saying, “Gyod! This feels good!” Bring on April!

G’Night!

Nightly Reflections – Saturday, March 30th, 2024

The saga of the washing machine has reached its end. Glory be and Alleluia! But it’s not without a postscript. This was what I was told Friday in a phone call from Best Buy. “You can expect the installers to arrive somewhere between 9:30 and 1:30.” You want to guess where I’m going next? Go ahead. I’ll wait. Ok? Well, as I was watching The Woody Woodpecker Show, at 7:30, I got a call. “We will be at your house in about 30 minutes.” OOOOOOOOOK then. So, I had to hustle a bit to pave the road to the laundry room, including moving my car from the garage and making sure Toby’s food was out of the way and the litter box and more was not in their way in the laundry room. At 8:00, I bribed Toby into the den and closed the door so he wouldn’t get in the way. They didn’t arrive until about 8:15 but then, the beginning of the end began 🙂 Once again, the two men were Hispanic. The one who called me referred to me as “Boss” numerous times, to the point where I wanted to giggle. It was kind of right out of a movie. When they both got out of the truck, I wanted to giggle again. Keep in mind I was a major admirer of Abbott and Costello as I grew up. Saw all their movies numerous times and to this day, I have all the movies on DVD sets. These two instantly brought back the comedy duo, if only in physical size. The one calling me “Boss” was the tall and slender one…Bud Abbott if you would. The other one was short and stout with a friendly face like Lou Costello and he was most certainly the “assistant” to the counterpart. Both were very nice men and very efficient in their approach to the task. They moved the old machine out and the new machine in with great ease. The laundry room door had to come off, understandably. But the maneuvered a narrow hallway and close quarters moving into the laundry room. It didn’t take long at all. Next thing I know the leader of the two was finished in the laundry room, told me he put the machine on a quick wash to make sure it was working properly, to do well by him in a survey in a few days and then “Goodbye.” Gosh. It was such a short relationship. lol But, I have my machine and the first load of laundry has initiated it into my home. End of Washing Machine Saga. Yay! 🙂

Happy Saturday! Happy Day Before Easter! Happy Second-To-Last-Day-In-March! What a beautiful day for March 30th, eh? Sunshine and milder temps. In the long range forecast, the temps are crazy good. At this rate, the opening of the track season for the little kids in Eagan will be far better than last year. Keeping fingers crossed!

A surprise visit from the laughter guy last night was delightful. We ended up running to get a bite to eat, but his tastebuds were a tad underwhelming. We ended up at Freddy’s in front the HyVee on Pilot Knob. He’s a lousy influence as he wanted ice cream and so I HAD to get a malt with my fish sandwich. They have a really good fish sandwich, by the way. I walked in and saw the poster for it, and suddenly I was hungry for one. It could have been that it was Good Friday and Mom would have allowed ONLY fish if she were with me. lol But, regardless, it was really good. I had to but it in half and double layer it so it would fit in my bun. Then their weird fries and we went to town! We also had the waitress laughing who waited on us at the counter. I said to my friend as we left the counter, “You realize we entertain a lot of people when we go places to eat?” And he was quite aware. We may take the act on the road, but I’ll let you know. 🙂

He was tired and went home super early after returning me to my abode. Consequently, I watched the final two games of the tournament, both of which were exciting games. The first two that I missed were not and I really missed nothing. Which was too bad because the Marquette game had Wisconsinites hoping for more, but…oh well. And then…the game I missed yesterday afternoon….the Brewers game…. THEY WON THEIR FIRST GAME! That means their new coach notched his first win EVER as a coach. Everyone in Wisconsin is pulling for him. Our main boy, Christian Yelich hit his first homer of the season and went 3-4. The new kid on the block who has been highly touted, Jackson Chourio. He’s 20 years old, which is young for the Majors, and he had a great debut too. So, many reasons to be excited about them yesterday. They’re playing this afternoon and then two more basketball games tonight before SNL. A full day, so to speak.

After the guys left from installing the washer, I threw in my laundry basket full of dirty clothes. The tub in this machine is definitely larger than the one I had. It’s also stainless steel, which I was told is the new thing for washers. Makes sense, actually. The machine definitely has a different sound when it runs. I still have to check out the manual I downloaded as to hot to set the controls for the most efficient wash and use of water. The lid locks on this machine when it’s washing, something I am not used to. And I questioned how I would pour my Downy into the machine when the time came to doing so. From the manual I downloaded, I got no help. So, I typed the question into Google and up came videos, which answered my question quickly. Tomorrow when I do the sheets, I’ll be able to do that then. I told a friend I was just talking to that now I want a new dryer. lol NO I WON’T BE BUYING A NEW DRYER! When you look at the picture of the new next to the old, you can tell the difference, but what do I care? I guess I care a little. LOL

I ran to Barnes and Noble this morning after the washer stopped. Got all showered up and headed out to take in some of this nice weather. Plus, there was yet another book presented to me that I couldn’t get out of my head, so of course, I had to go buy it. If I go broke, it won’t be because of technology and such. It will be because I couldn’t stop buying books! lol I told the salesclerk that there are far worse addictions one could have. The only thing is if my sister goes after I go, she’ll be the one to discover my book addiction and she’ll curse my existence. lol Oh well. It will be my last gift to my sis. LOLOL

It’s a funny thing about Holy Saturday night. I remember one year, it was Mom and me who stayed up that Saturday night to watch something on TV. Also, she had made a chocolate cake with white powdered sugar frosting, especially for me because I had given that up for Lent. And she knew that at midnight on Easter, I could dive in. I always think intensely about Mom on this night each year. I don’t think I’ve ever shared that with anyone. I don’t remember much more about that night except it was she and me and there was the cake and something on television and when I went to bed, I suspect she pulled out the baskets for my sister and the twins. And mine, of course 🙂 The two older ones were already long gone. It’s a nice connection I have on this night even if it is not a full memory 🙂

My Easter Sunday will be subdued, but then, it usually is. I’ll have a ham steak and some mashed potatoes and a vegetable and I’ll be good to go. I’ll also watch the Brewer game in the afternoon so not a bad deal. Tonight’s bedtime movie will be Easter Parade with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire. And that’s how this day will end. Tomorrow the sheets will also get washed and life will be back to normal come Monday. Three Saturdays from now, I’ll be in the EHS press box from 9 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon. And the season will begin once again and all will be right with the world. Brooks will once again have his microphone back 🙂

I ended up watching today’s game, or most of it, from my living room. The first one of the season for me and there will be many many more. Well over a hundred. It’s why I pay for the subscription to MLB TV. Each year, it’s $150. That’s not even a dollar a game. And it means everything to me that I can watch my team throughout the summer. So, I have no problem doing that each year. This year I’m trying to communicate with MLB regarding an issue I’m having trying to log in via my laptop and my phone. Recent years, no problem, but this year, a problem and it’s irritating and the fact they aren’t responding even more so. Early this next week, if I don’t hear from them based on my last polite email, I will “go low” as they say. I’ve been a customer too long and have already paid the money and they need to respond. Simple as that.

Hey…may you all have a great Easter, however you see fit to celebrate it. And we’ll check back in here tomorrow night to see how everything went. Until then, I hope you got out there today to enjoy the sunshine. It isn’t too late yet! And may tomorrow be nothing but fun and memorable. See ya Sunday night!

G’Night!

Nightly Reflections – (Good) Friday, March 29th, 2024

To say the best thing about today was the phone call I received, informing me that my washing machine will be installed tomorrow between 9:30 and 1:30 would be the biggest lie I could tell you. That was NOT the best thing about today. However, it sure as heck was a nice phone call and hopefully, now that the plumbing situation has been rectified, 24 hours from now I will have washed the load of dirty laundry in the laundry basket in my bedroom. Yay! But, if that’s not the best thing that happened today, then what the hell is? Come along with me 🙂

Happy Good Friday! My mother would not have been happy with me today because we were raised to be silent and pray the rosary from noon until three and focus on the final hours of Christ’s life. Then, at 3, we could go outside and play up a storm. lol Something like that, anyhow. Today, however, I decided to bond with four different people from RHS with whom I worked over three decades. And if you don’t know this about me by now, you haven’t been paying attention. Staying in contact with these people is important to me. They are a part of my past here. I spent 33 years at RHS and I spent 21 years in Beaver Dam. AND, nine years after the 33 years, I’m still here hanging with them from time to time. As I shared with them today, they are my family, just as my family is. We know each other, inside out, and have seen each other through the good times and the bad. Each time we gather for lunch, I see it as a celebration of our friendship. And I think celebrating friendships is a perfectly good thing to do. At 11:30, the Granite City Gang came together at Olive Garden in Burnsville. The gang was back together again. And for two hours, we simply shared laughs, caught up with one another, and enjoyed a good meal. The time came for us to leave but I think we all left feeling like our bellies were full of food and our hearts were full of happiness once again. These are good people and we can’t meet enough times for my tastebuds.

Once I left, I had some time before my 2:00 date, so I stopped at Barnes and Noble on my way out of Burnsville. I managed to pick up two books, one of them an unusual book but I’ll share those with you another time. From there, I went to the Nature Food place on 11…I never remember the exact name of this little place. It’s where I would get my CBD cream once upon a time. I went there to get a CBD roller for a friend but when I arrived, I discovered the line of products by Merry Hempsters were no longer part of their inventory. Severely disappointed. I looked at another one, but it was another $20, bringing the total to $53. Not after the week I had, so I DID, however, pick up a candle instead. The scent was mighty fine. Ginger and White Tea. Yum. And then, my sites were focused on The Mason Jar in Eagan. This place used to be something else with “France” or “French” in the title before they became The Mason Jar. I used the place back when for grading papers and drinking coffee. It was an unusual coffee place for the area and I liked that. But this is nice too and I think they seem to be doing a fine business, so that’s good for Eagan. My friend was inside, waiting for me as I sat on the bench by the door, waiting for her. lol Finally, I texted her, asking her if she was on her way. Her response? “I’ve been here 15 minutes. Where are YOU?!” So, I hunted her down and there she was. One of my first and best RHS buddies from 1982 and moving forward! This person is a big ol’ cup of joy. They just don’t get any better than her. Every time we bond, I feel such a connection. She’s total class and still knows how to be a bundle of fun. Actually, she exudes fun. Definitely had a great time catching up with her as well. We do not connect as much as I’d like to. I told her we need to diminish the amount of time between reconnects. I’ll push for that in the weeks ahead. Get together while we can and while we still remember who the other person is. lol It was a great two hours with her too.

I came home and fed the King. I was way behind on feeding him as I usually will feed him lunch at one if I’m here. Now, his schedule is all futzed up. And I just got word the laughing friend is on his way here, so I suspect we’ll be heading out to find dinner someplace. I best leave him his dinner even though he may not touch it for hours and then pull out the toy too. He already seems to be looking for it and since it’s past six, he probably is. The Cat Who Ate A Schedule. He has the insane ability to know when it’s time for this, that and the other thing. He just hangs out in front of me so I can see him. He’s not fooling Dad. lol

This is going to be short tonight since he’s well on his way to arriving. And I don’t want to not post this until later. I hope your Good Friday was for you what you wanted it to be. Tomorrow I look forward to having my washing machine up and running. I need to wash some clothes! Nothing else on the agenda this weekend. And that’s fine. If I was in Beaver Dam, we’d likely be going to a place called Bayside. It’s on the lake and they’ll have a great Easter brunch. And it’s a helluva brunch, let me assure you. If there’s anything negative about having Toby, it’s that I just can’t pull up stakes when I want again. Gotta have someone stop by to at least make sure he’s fed and that the litter box doesn’t get ugly. It’s ok. Another year.

We shall reconnect here tomorrow night. I hope your Saturday provides you with relaxation and time to get things done you need to get done. Then, We’ll chat ya Saturday night. Can’t wait to share the pic of the washer in its new home versus in a box in my garage! Until then, ladies and gentlemen, Hippity Hoppity!

G’Night!

Nightly Reflections – Thursday, March 28th, 2024

Before I forget, I need to share a movie trailer with you. This is now available on Netflix and until I saw it online yesterday, I had no idea this existed. It was a movie out last year. And with Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates in it, how does one NOT watch the trailer at the very least. I hope you enjoy it. I can not wait to sit down and watch it. It looks like a charming film.

Happy Thursday, All! I hope yours went better than mine did. Things with the delivery and installation of the new washer went about as well as I had planned. Not well. I hoped it would be without a catch, but that was not meant to be. I set my alarm for 7:00 since I was told that the window of the folks bringing it would be between 7 and 11. However, I was also told that I was second on the list of the morning deliveries, so I figured at least I’d have until 7:30. HA! I managed to get to the living room and sit in the chair to begin my morning routine with my phone when it rang. They were on the way. So, I went and pushed the dining room table out of their way, pushed Toby’s water dish and food dish to another part of the kitchen, went out to the COLD garage and got in the car to move it so they had a runway from the outside through my garage and into the kitchen. I was about done with that when they arrived. I struggled because they were Hispanic and their English was sufficiently broken. But, we managed. One person came in right away while the other proceeded to take the machine off the truck. The one in the house went over to the machine with a tool and was saying something but I was not understanding. He also had his phone out and using it for something, my visit I assumed, and he reached up to the water pipes to try to loosen something when he turned to me and said that I was going to need to call a plumber (ouch) and have them replace the water valve. I have a feeling this was that thing the Best Buy guy was telling me when I bought the machine. So, they left the washer in its box in the garage and off they went. I was frustrated, to say the least. Thus, I got on the laptop and started looking up plumbers. I chose Ben Franklin in Rosemount. I figure they gave me my money through the years, why shouldn’t they be the ones to take it from me too. (lol) I managed to get an appointment for today between 2 and 6. I know this will likely not be cheap but my hands are tied. The joys of being a homeowner. Mother didn’t live long enough to tell me there’d be days like this. Or weeks, for that matter. HA! So, as I begin this, it is only shortly after twelve, so I will wait until they’ve come to see what more to this story I will add. But, for now, I will move on for now.

My Brewer game that was supposed to be their season opener in New York today ended up being cancelled yesterday because of today’s weather report. So, they will open tomorrow afternoon, but I have basketball returning tonight to make this an ok thing. 🙂 From 6 until 11 or so, I’ll be happy watching this start to weekend two of hoops fun.

Let’s stay with the movie trailer theme today. Here’s a trailer that crossed my path this morning and thought I’d share here. This looks like total fun. See what you think 🙂

I told you earlier this week I bought a book but I didn’t share it with you. I’m sharing it now. Check out the pic because then I have something to share as well. If you look at the pic and you instantly think Diana, there’s a reason for that. “…a Princess Diana impersonator and her estranged sister find themselves drawn into a dangerous game of money and murder in this twisting tale of organized crime, cryptocurrency, and family secrets on the Las Vegas strip.” So, you see. The figure on the front of the book cover is supposed to resemble Diana. This author also wrote The Flight Attendant. It’s a book that became a series on MAX. I watched the first season and enjoyed it immensely. The main character of the attendant was an interesting woman. Kinda crazy character. But fun. 🙂 Barnes and Noble says it’s one of the most anticipated mysteries of 2024. That works for me.

You know what happened two years ago today? My writing partner and I finished the first draft of our movie screenplay. At that time, it was 171 pages. Even now, I continue to marvel at not only did we write one but it was that long. It was two years in the making. All along, he told me it was going to be too long, but we didn’t fret that because we knew it was better to have too much and to shave off than not have enough and to come up with “filler.” This story always had a life of its own which is what I credit the excess pages to. We just had to get it under control. The second draft, a few months later, would be 121 pages. Much better but still not good. We learned that if a script went over 110 pages, the likelihood of it falling to the bottom of the “To Read” stack or even a permanent home in a garbage can was greatly increased. So, we worked hard to get it to where it sits now as a final final final product 🙂 109 pages. It continues to get attention and to be read by people in the industry. And we continue to believe very much in our product. The secret now is to simply wait while doing whatever we can to promote it and get in the right hands. It will happen. The only reason I remember this day is Facebook reminded me of it. When he and I finished that Zoom that day in 2022, I raced down 42 to what was still a Staples store, gave them the file and asked for a copy. I would ultimately have them print several more of the various drafts. I couldn’t have been prouder of it then and I’ve lost no pride nor hope for it in the duration since. We continue to hang in there with smiles 🙂

It’s Holy Thursday. I remember not much from Holy Thursday when I was growing up. I asked my second oldest brother what he remembered. He said we’d go to church on Holy Thursday. I remember during Lent, the Stations of the Cross was a big thing we’d do weekly. Mom wouldn’t have it any other way. Lent seemed to be a lot of work when I was a tyke. Christmas was much more fun. lol The Greatest Story Ever Told was a movie that came out in 1965. The life of Christ, essentially, all leading up to the Crucifixion and Easter Sunday. I would have been ten years old, putting me in 4th or 5th grade. I remember our entire school walking to the theater just down the block and watching it one afternoon during Lent. It was a powerful film that left an everlasting impact on me. I own the DVD and, along with The Ten Commandments, is a movie I make sure to watch every Lent. Time for another trailer. 🙂

The plumber arrived early and laid out the costs and my choices after he examined the situation and what he’d have to do. Not pretty. However, I have chosen to go with this company as they will inspect things monthly for me, especially since the furnace and the central air unit are both getting up there in years. It will save me $150 or so today. That would be nice. First there was the washer. Then the dental cleaning. Now the plumbing needs. It can stop here now. I’m good with no more unexpected bills. Good lord. Poor Toby had to be put in the den. No way he could be bugging this guy as he was soldering and doing all sorts of things in there that made it smell “hot.” Again I say…the joys of being a homeowner.

Well, no sense in me sticking around here any longer. You know that my evening will be all about the orange ball that bounces and its objective is to go through to cylindrical objects with string hanging from each 🙂 Beyond that, I’m hungry and will want to grab lunch when the plumber leaves. I’ll sort through my change jar for some extra cash. lol Here’s to hoping your Thursday was a far less expensive day for you and that you’re geared up for Good Friday as we prepare to wrap up another season of Lent as well as say goodbye to March, a month with many surprises in it. May April be a whole lot less wishy washy in the weather department. See you Friday night!

G’Night!

(P.S. the repairman left and eventually I went to use the faucet in the kitchen and the stream of water would suggest he didn’t open up the water line when he left….or something cuz he came back and said, “Oh, I know what I did.” So, it wasn’t that he didn’t turn the water back on, but it had to do with the hot water. Oh well. Life is one constant adventure lately.)

Nightly Reflections – Wednesday, March 27th, 2024

Well, a much nicer day today, eh? Still lousy temps for late March, but sunshine galore and nary a snowflake in the air. Perhaps we’ve seen the last one now until November, eh? All in favor, say “Aye!” It’s unanimous. No more snow now. Next topic 🙂

Happy Wednesday! It’s funny, but I wonder how many people out there who are enjoying spring break are looking at the calendar and saying, “It’s already half over.” Cuz, it is! Four more days left in March and then April takes over and let’s hope it’s a better April than last year. I remember weekends last year in April and they weren’t pretty. Once I started my track job mid April last year, I know I was wearing jackets in the press box for four out of the five meets. The first one that began on a Friday night had snow as part of the Kick-off celebration. Saturday morning, it was an icy slushy mix on the metal bleachers and I walked carefully and slowly as soon as I laid foot on the first step. Hopefully, none of that this year. We’re going to be a little chilly in these parts for a while now. But the daily highs in the 50s are not far away. I’m simply ready to rid myself once again of the winter coat. Something lighter will be nice.

I had my teeth cleaned today. I learned that my dentist and his brother have sold their business to Park Dental as the two of them begin to transition themselves into retirement. I also paid more for a cleaning today than previously. So, I think I have decided to investigate the dentist list my insurance gives us as dentists we can go to for some financial breaks. I’ve avoided doing this up to now because my dentist is my old college buddy and I hated the idea of leaving him, but now…I think it’s time. So, that will be on my docket in the months ahead to see who I can go to. Or should I be wondering who will take me? I have no idea how this works now. But I guess I’ll learn. Kinda weird, either way.

While at the dentist, I got a call from Best Buy. They wanted to tell me that tomorrow, they’ll arrive with my new washer between 7 and 11. I like that a lot. Then I won’t be prisoner to the day while waiting for them to arrive. This will work beautifully. Although, I was told by the Best Buy guy that they may run into a situation where I will need to have a plumber come…something to do with the water pipes and something Apple Valley changed in their by-laws or a new ordinance or something. Just know that if I tell you tomorrow night that it’s still not done, you’ll know I knew I should not have been surprised. I so am hoping this isn’t how this part of the story goes, but it’s out of my control. I really do not want to have yet another bill, the plumber’s bill, for coming in and doing something I had no say in. So goes life, right?

I enjoyed a night of F.B.I. stories last night. Such good shows, all three of them. They may only be network but they are powerful stories with great performances. I also snuck in a 9-1-1 beforehand. There are shows I watch that I’ve been watching that I wouldn’t feel bad about being cut, but do you think I can simply stop watching them on my own? Nope. NO idea why I can’t walk away from a show that I no longer really want to watch, but I can’t. The Good Doctor is another good example. I’ve enjoyed the show, though at times it’s been a difficult show to watch because of the emotions that the show provokes. Now, however, the show is in its final year. So, we, the viewers know, that the storylines we see before us will no longer exist by June. Forever. So, my question is…what’s the point of watching the remainder now? Dunno, but by God, I’ll be watching it anyhow. lol TV is funny that way. I’ve had shows over time that I found painful to watch because they were shows that were simply not nice and had people you really didn’t care about at all and still…I watched it. I can think of several shows I felt that way about. Not so many these days, but Doctor is one. I definitely don’t do that with any streaming series. Yet. lol

The twins in our family are 58 years old. Both are/were married and both have two children, now adults. One of them today became a grandfather. For me, when I think of them they are still my little brothers and not 58-year old men. When we got the text today with him holding his first grandson, I had to take a minute and step back. If I didn’t before, as I texted to two of my siblings, I now feel officially old. Seriously…when one stops to think about time passing…I’m 68 years old. I have lived for 68 years! I have seen much and experienced much and met many and the list of EVERYTHING goes on. It’s rather remarkable when you think of it. What we survive emotionally and physically. And how it is we made it through stuff others didn’t. And why. I don’t sit and think about this stuff often, but sometimes, when my head goes there, I’m almost overwhelmed at life and how it is I’m still around. But always grateful, of course.

Tonight is more catching up on some network shows and I am going to try to sneak in the newest Shogun. Tomorrow night, basketball returns. Four games Thursday night and four more Friday night. Two on each day of the weekend. After tomorrow’s washer arrival, then freedom all day. Friday, lunch with the Granite City Gang and coffee later with a dear friend from my teaching days. A nice way to move into the weekend. For now, however, I am done. Enjoy your evening and may your Thursday have more sunshine and a few more degrees of warmth. And please tell me you don’t plan to buy a new “autographed” Bible for $59.99 any time soon. The story, “You Can’t Make This S*** Up” continues. And one has to shake their head and hope their eyes don’t get stuck in their head.

G’Night!

Nightly Reflections – Tuesday, March 26th, 2024

How will I remember this day? It’s the day my washer got the death notice from the folks at Centerpoint. Yup. They came in this morning and I told them I figured it would be a simple issue, such as a belt snapping. I was wrong. There was transmission oil all over the back of the machine. I also found out that in 2004, I or they apparently cancelled the washer from the plan because of some water leak in the machine at the time. I have NO recollection of this but then, yesterday is blurry so who’s going to remember 20 years ago. I know when I moved in here in 1991, I inherited the two machines in the laundry room. I remember buying both a washer and dryer at some point early in my residence here. This machine is likely over 20 years old, so it’s hard to complain if that’s the case. So, the washer hunt is on. Best price and installation soon. Wish me luck.

Happy Tuesday! This has proven to be a real interesting day for me. It’s 3:00 and I just got home after leaving the house around noon. Despite the weather at that time, I had told HyVee I’d be in to get the weekly muffins today. Now, as my sister was telling me while I drove there that the muffins could have waited until tomorrow if the roads were that ugly, and they kinda were. (thank you, Mom) However, I had another reason. A compelling reason to run over to that part of Eagan. Stick with me. I’ll tell you all of it.

So, this morning, I showered after the two Centerpoint downers left and despite the weather, I headed out. My primary reason was I needed to order a new washing machine. I view this differently from some might, perhaps? I saw no reason to wait. I will want to wash clothes here soon and the longer I wait, blah blah blah. I already was planning on going to HyVee in Eagan for the weekly muffins. As my sister complained, aware of our weather, “…the muffins could wait until tomorrow when the weather is better.” No, they couldn’t. 😛 Since I was already going to be in the area, I figured I’d run over to the Best Buy, since it’s now the only one I know fully open, and check out their machines. Because I have a membership in their special customer program, I figured it might behoove me to purchase it there. So, I picked up my muffins and then, ordered a pork tenderloin sandwich as well. They have them on sale, with fries, for $6 on Tuesdays. The sandwich is HUGE. I knew it would no longer be warm by the time I got home, but I could just place it inside the OVEN on WARM, which it’s doing right now. Smells good, even in the living room. I went to Best Buy after having visited HyVee and started the hunt. Didn’t take me long, though. I wanted something priced reasonably. To me, a washer is a washer is a washer. It was down to two machines, one with a glass lid so I could watch the clothes wash because I have no social life, or for $100 less, the one I chose. You can see the one in one of my pics tonight. When all was said and done, it came to $632. It will arrive Thursday. I hope I am writing here Thursday night that it’s installed and it’s already put out a load of clothes. That would make me happy.

While I was standing, waiting for the paperwork at the register, I noticed a product on a shelf of miscellaneous items. This one from Sharper Image. And as you can see in the pic, it is something that will be perfect for my neck issue I write about. The ice pack I have and use is more awkward and I fight trying to place it in the correct place and keeping it there. This covers the entire area by simply laying it on my neck and back and shoulders. I hope I love it as I think I will. It was only $20 so I had to buy it.

Ok…I leave Best Buy and head to Barnes and Noble. I had been obsessing about a book for two days now, and no snow and wind was going to keep me from going when I am that close. I went inside, asked for the book because i could not find it only to be told they were out! “But Burnsville has it.” Thank you. I took off and headed to Burnsville’s store. When I get on a book kick, don’t even try to stop me. I found 35E fairly good once I got about five miles away from where I was in Eagan. Got my book and then my car was telling me to get gas or I’d be walking real soon. So, I also knew that I needed milk if I was going to be happy during dinner tonight. I stopped at Kwik Trip on my way back and picked up the milk and filled up my tank. Yup. Today was all about “Spend, Spend, Spend…” Tomorrow, let’s spend a little more on the dental cleaning. I’m a little tired of this now, so it can stop and let’s close the bank for a while! Geeez!

So, that was my day. From bad news to spend money to replace the bad news with good news to buy a book and feel better about the world 🙂 And then sit down and write the Nightly Reflection for Tuesday 🙂 Tonight will likely be an F.B.I. night and a Law and Order thrown in for good measure. After tomorrow night, it’s a return to basketball for four more days and nights. I watched the second episode last night of 3 Body Problem. This thing has me by the throat. It’s just a compelling story that I need to know more about. One has to wonder about the minds of the people who create stories like this. This was a book series. It’s intriguing as anything.

Tomorrow is dental cleaning day and then Thursday, a new washer enters my world (hopefully). There is a chance, I was told by the salesperson at Best Buy that Apple Valley passed some sort of ordinance or whatever you would call such a thing that there’s a new thing about some of the plumbing and washing machines. I hope the folks don’t get here and then tell me I have to get a plumber in to do what needs to be done. Something like a suppression unit or something. Who knows. In any case, I’d like it to be a smooth install and then get the hell out of my house. 🙂 Then Friday, bonding day with former colleagues and present-day peeps 😉

I think of the kids and the families who are off on spring breaks and how sad they must be that they aren’t around for what we’ve all been experiencing. My spontaneous buddy is in Cozumel and I’ve made sure to keep him up-to-date with pics and such. 🙂 I understand the Lakeville district will be on break next week, so they get an A on the timing of their vacation 🙂 Hoping your week is moving along nicely, despite this hissy fit Mother Nature is throwing. We’ll see you back here Wednesday night. Stay safe!

G’Night!

Nightly Reflections – Monday, March 25th, 2024

Snow on the ground, temps in the 30s, I think I’m perfectly within my rights to say NINE MONTHS FROM TODAY IS CHRISTMAS! That was easy 🙂

Happy Monday! If you’ve already taken a gander at one of the pics, you’ll see two ducks in my neighborhood. Every year, two ducks show up about this time and it’s just like clockwork. And here they were once again, this morning, looking around the neighborhood. Are they the same two? The fact that TWO ducks show up EVERY year at THIS TIME tells me the chances are good. Now, my sister has a couple of ducks who come to her pool every time this year as well. And they actually irritate her because they are a messy animal and they mess the pool cover which gets to be disgusting when it’s time to take off. So, she, the animal lover herself, tries to spook them off in any number of ways. I sent her this pic this morning and asked her if these were her two (jokingly, of course) and she responded with…”Probably. They know I’m mad at them.” So, there ya go 🙂

Well, once again, we have snow to look at. After many of us stopped wearing jackets for a few days last week, we now arm ourselves with the warmer jackets and coats, hoping to not see any more of this kind of behavior from Mother Nature until November. Tomorrow, they’re saying that we still might get 1-3 inches of snow out of this system. Here’s what Mr. Novak says…”We are NOT done with the heavy SNOW. Tomorrow AM has the potential to be a mess for portions of eastern MN & western WI. This would be a quick hitting, heavy burst of snow that will come as a shock to many of us.” So, take that for what it’s worth. By Wednesday, let’s hope it’s all just a memory and that we head into Easter weekend with spring in our thoughts.

Last night had a couple of games that were exciting ones to watch as the first four days of the tournament ended. It was a good four days and I always hate how quickly those days go and, despite the tournament continuing this coming weekend, the number of games will be less and so the chaos of 64 games happening will be gone. But Thursday and Friday there will be four games each day and then two on Saturday and Sunday. Again, that’s referred to as The Sweet Sixteen and the Elite Eight. The following weekend will be The Final Four with one to go for the title game. But, I’ll already be distracted by baseball, that starts THIS THURSDAY!!! Imagine this weather for opening day in stadiums without a roof. Will be some cancellations, for sure. The Twins play the Brewers series 2 and they’ll be under cover so those games will happen come hell or high water!

As I sit here and glance out through the big windows here at The Bucks, the view is vastly different from last night’s view. Snow coming down gangbusters by dusk but now, it’s raining hard. What happens when the temps drop tonight? I wouldn’t want to be out on the roads in the morning if this stuff freezes over night, which it seems it will if we’re still slated for snow in the morning. Who knows.

I didn’t tell you my good fortune yesterday morning. I had received notifications that my litter was on its way to the house from Chewy. My biggest concern on this day every nine weeks is that I see them deliver the three heavy boxes so I can ask that they place them inside the garage versus leaving them outside the garage door. I was in the garage, having just moved my car so it would face out versus face in like normal folks would park their car. lol While I was backing into my garage, the FED EX truck pulled into my development and lo and behold, it was there for me! The guy got out of his truck, holding one of the boxes on his shoulder, and I asked him nicely if he could place it inside the garage. He was happy to accommodate and one, two, three they were all in there, stacked as you see them in one of tonight’s pics. He left, I closed the garage door and I didn’t give it another thought all day. Normally I have lousy luck with timing things, but this was perfect!

Have I told you about the new and improved Toby? Well, that may be overstating things, but normally, he would be outside my door in the morning, waiting for me to wake up and feed him. But he has a new pattern. If he is not between the curtain and the window of the patio door when I come out of my room, I know I’ll find him in my recliner in the living room. And he’s usually just waking up. At least he stretches and yawns when I first see him, so I assume that’s what he’s been up to. We have a little lovin’ moment and then he follows me into the kitchen for breakfast. lol

I threw a package of brats into the slo-cooker yesterday to make dinner easy last night but also to make the next couple of days easy for dinner ideas. I put them in there for four hours on HIGH. Cut up some onions and let them help flavor the brats as well. Nothing else, but my sister said she would have added brown sugar and bacon and sauerkraut. For starters, if I never have sauerkraut again in my life, it will be too soon because I had to deal with it far too regularly at St. Patrick’s for eight years. And back then, the nuns had the power (and parental authority) to make you eat your food. So, no thank you. As for the other two items…I might try that sometime, but my problem with the finished product was they were gray after four hours. The online video I watched of a person doing this somehow got them to brown. But they didn’t for me. So, tonight when I reheat one or two, I will put it in a pan for a bit to give it the grilled look, since I won’t be wanting to grill in the rain for dinner. But, as far as brats go, the one I had was damn tasty. Put some of my Secret Stadium Sauce on it from Wisconsin. The special ingredient that is used at sporting events. It’s awesome stuff.

Tonight will likely be another episode of 3 Body Problem and maybe a couple of shows I’ve recorded previously from network television. I have a dental cleaning this week (which I am so not wanting to go to for multiple reasons) and two social gatherings with RHS retired peeps. Thursday afternoon you will NOT find me in The Bucks as I’ll be watching the opening day game with the Brewers! They’ll be in New York playing the Mets. I hope your Monday was a good Monday, especially since it’s the last one in March! One week from today is April Fools’ Day! What a day for the RHS kids and teachers to return on. lol

G’Night!

Nightly Reflections – Sunday, March 24th, 2024

Happy Palm Sunday! You know what I remember about Palm Sunday growing up? Going to church and receiving the palms! And I wanted my own but Mom said there was no need for me to have my own. She didn’t want anyone at Mass going without because I took one I didn’t need. And then, we’d get home and I’d run the palm we got over to Mrs. Karl. She would braid the palm for us and then return it. I thought it was so cool that she could do that. Every year, I was as intrigued by it as the year before. Do people still do that any more? But it’s Mrs. Karl I think of every year on this day. And that’s a nice way to keep her memory alive.

Happy Sunday! At the moment, 2:00, it doesn’t like there’s any way we’re going to get the storm they’ve predicted, but I am not about to poo poo it cuz about the time I do, the skies open up and all hell breaks loose. As much as radar suggests we should be getting pelted with snow, it’s not much of an event. We shall see since it’s supposed to go on well into the morning hours. Certainly lots of water in it. All I’m seeing in my neighborhood is wet pavement. There is some snow beginning to gather at the edges, but nothing requiring shoveling or plowing yet. As I said, we shall see.

Well, let me tell you about something that happened yesterday later in the afternoon, after I had written my Reflection. A year ago on March 19th, my dryer stopped working. I believe it was Tuesday that Counterpoint came to check out the issue since I have the agreement with them that I’ve been paying into for years. He said I had a very sturdy dryer and that it would go on for years, despite the fact it was already over 20 years old. Well…it happened again. Only this time, to my washer. I threw in a load of laundry yesterday. Once it was done with the rinse and spin cycles, I went in to transfer the items to the dryer. I opened the washer lid and saw something weird. Where the clothes should have been sticking to the sides of the basin wall, they weren’t. I didn’t think much of it because I had let time lapse before I went in and thought maybe they had peeled away so I did another spin. This time, I thought the motor sounded weird. Once it finished, I went in and nothing had changed. After some more close inspection, I could see there was nothing spinning during the spin cycle. Now I had an issue. Aside from the fact I had a washer that had stopped performing, I had wet items in the machine. I am pretty sure they washed and went through the rinse phase but when the spin was supposed to begin, my guess is a belt snapped inside. I didn’t want to put the wet items into the dryer. I knew I was going to have to hand wring as much as I could the items so the excess water would be minimal. But still too wet in my mind for the dryer. So, I figured I would run them into a dryer at the laundromat in Rosemount. Let me tell you how fun it wasn’t, trying to wring out these items with my left hand that is laden with arthritis. Painful, to say the least. But, I did the best I could, grabbed the laundry basket and put the items in there. I ran into Rosemount’s laundromat and plugging the machine with eight quarters, I left for a half hour. I saw Topps there, quite active. I thought perhaps I would get a small pizza when I returned for my dinner. On the way home for the short time I’d be there, I got a call from my laughing friend, telling me he was on his way to my place. He had been in the area for another reason, so I was excited to see him, which sort of bumped me out of my ugly mood having to deal with this issue. He came and we basically had to run back to the laundromat to pick up my clothes which were done drying. Aside from one towel that was damp, the rest were fine. I then asked my friend if he’d be ok with me ordering a pizza and then waiting to take it away. He had just eaten so he wasn’t interested in food. So, we waited. There were two little boys who belonged, apparently, to the owners. They were pretty much adorable. But, for some reason, they took an instant liking to me. One of them was staring at me through the front glass as I was entering and he was smiling. I walked in, stopped and asked him, “What are you smiling at?” and his response…”You.” My friend and I went over to a table after ordering where we’d sit and wait. The little boys came over, one of them right up to my leg and putting his arm around me as much as he possibly could. It was like I was a grandpa or something. My friend was getting a lot of amusement from watching this. So, of course, I chatted with them. It was actually very sweet. The pizza was done and I said goodbye to them and left. After eating some of it, my friend and I ran to Target because he had something he was looking for. Once we finished our Target run, I came back and he popped in his car and headed for his home. It was a nice ending to a frustrating point in the afternoon.

Last night, there were two games that went into overtime. I had no personal stake in either team or either game, aside from the fact I wanted an exciting competitive game and I got two at the end of the night. They were so fun to watch. They both went into overtime which only escalated the excitement and one of them went into double overtime. Today’s games began with another barn burner. Marquette, a Wisconsin institution, was up against a very good Colorado team. It didn’t go into overtime, but it was never decided until the final seconds. So fun to watch these games and the college kids playing them and the college fans in the stands along with the families and friends of the teams. It’s why I love watching this tournament. They’re all so invested in what they’re doing/watching. For me, it’s a fun event.

Either Toby isn’t feeling well today OR the weather has him in SLOW mode. I believe that cats respond to weather and when it’s like it is today, they just have NO energy. Such is Toby’s life today. He went into my bedroom and snoozed on the bed (which is unusual for daytime snoozing) and he snoozed PAST his lunch hour. I finally had to go in and remind him it was lunch time and he was missing it! He came out and ate and then crashed by me while I wrote this. Last night, he really wanted to be with me in the chair, apparently. He will never jump into the chair with me on his own. Unless it’s in recliner position and I’m covered in the blanket. So, when I did just that last night, he immediately leapt up onto my lap and curled himself up between my thighs and he was good to go until I would eventually have to disrupt him for need of a bathroom break! Yep, he’s definitely lacking energy today. We’ll see if that changes as day becomes night. lol

It’s now 5:00 and this storm looks to be a lot of nothing. Still, however, when I go to radar and hit the progressive button, it shows the area filling in and darker shades of blue, indicating hard snow, so maybe it will still become a nuisance as opposed to producing white landscape and wet pavement. Oh well. I threw in a package of brats to the slo-cooker with some cut up onions. My laughing friend recently did this and I thought it sounded like a good plan. So, I bought some brats and did just that. The place smells delicious right now. Looking forward to having a couple for dinner. And then two more meals after that! I’ve got a package of chicken drumsticks for later this week, but the brats were the easier of the two meals.

I’m signing out and figuring out what to do before dinner. I started the new Netflix series, 3 Body Problem. It’s gotten a lot of attention and I have been more than intrigued by the trailers. I began episode one during game two because it was a blowout and it had me glued to the screen until I got a phone call. I’ll be going back to it as soon as I can. And I just got a news alert on my phone, indicating that the folks behind this series have plans for an even better season two (indicating this story will not end after this first batch of episodes) but the question was will Netflix want another one. So…that begs the question…if this story doesn’t end with this batch of episodes and Netflix says “Thanks, but no thanks…” will I really want to dig in and watch it? I have to finish this episode, for sure. I need to see what’s going on and I know they’ll explain it in this first episode. A woman keeps seeing an electrically-produced countdown and she has no clue as to why she’s seeing this, wherever she looks. So, you see why I want to at least finish this first episode. Hey…have a good Sunday night and a great start to your week. Again, one week from tonight is the final day in this month and then APRIL! This isn’t so bad, right? 🙂

G’Night!

Nightly Reflections – Saturday, March 23rd, 2024

The Lull Before The Storm. You ready? It’s 1:10 and they still have it as a Watch. It has to change soon. Either to a Warning, which is where my money is, or an Advisory, which would make this another storm that didn’t produce for us. I think this one has them all baffled, and it seems to come down to the line between snow and rain. NO matter what, we definitely should see snow much of tomorrow. Will it be around Monday as it’s supposed to turn over to rain? Who knows. Maybe by the time I finish this, we’ll know which it will be. I’m ready to hunker down tomorrow and just slug it out all day 🙂

Happy Saturday! And guess what. It just changed over. It is now a Warning. And here’s what they’re saying.
…WINTER STORM ARRIVES SUNDAY BRINGING HEAVY WET SNOW AND STRONG WIND… .Light snow will develop tonight, but the main storm system will arrive on Sunday. A heavy band of snow will develop across northern Iowa Sunday morning, and lift up from the south. Snowfall rates of 1 inch per hour are likely, with 2 inches per hour possible. Winds will be out of the east at 25 to 35 mph, which will lead to very low visibility. Snow will become more widespread throughout the day on Sunday. A Winter Storm Warning is now in effect for areas along and north a line extending from New Ulm to Red Wing in Minnesota and all of west-central Wisconsin. On Sunday night, warmer air will cause snow to change over to rain across southern Minnesota, and this warm air will expand on Monday. Areas in eastern Minnesota and western Wisconsin could also change over to rain. Areas in western Minnesota will likely remain all snow. There is uncertainty on where the rain, snow line will set up. On Monday night and Tuesday, colder air will move in causing a change over back to snow across much of the region. A couple more inches of accumulation is possible, but the main concern is for strong northwest winds of 30 to 40 mph to cause blowing snow across western Minnesota. The system will exit on Tuesday.
So, there you are. Sound like a day you want to be out in with your car? Me thinkst not.

Well, I already hate that the first two days of the tourney are behind us. There are eight games today and eight games tomorrow. And then the real burst of energy with this tournament is over for another year. Next weekend it’s all about the Sweet Sixteen (teams) on Thursday and Friday, only to be whittled down to the Elite Eight for Saturday and Sunday. The following weekend it’s The Final Four and then we move on to Tuesday for the Championship game. Basketball will then become a faint memory and we move to baseball, which begins in five quick days. I am so ready. I once again have paid my subscription to MLB TV so I can watch all the Brewer games. And I very much am looking forward to that. With a new coach this year and some new faces, one can only hope they have another positive season that lands them in the post-season where we all hope for a longer stint. We have been in the post-season but can’t seem to go far at all. We’re hoping that’s in the past now. And I, of course, am having a blast playing the actual season on my Switch. It sits next to me in my recliner and I will regularly pick it up, play an inning and then put it down until I’m ready for the next inning. I’m struggling right now getting any runs. I may have it set to a too difficult level. I’ll fix that if that’s the case 😛

My sister sent me a precious picture of her Sunny this morning. A perfect blanket for Sunny. My sister is using my idea from the Willy days when I’d toss a blanket over the recliner in the living room where he’d crawl inside and sleep there for hours, only to poke his head out to see what might have changed in the living room while he slept and what I was up to. I’ve shared my favorite pic of him doing that. My sister also has done it in her sunroom and Sunny loves it. She can be found there often. It was just too sweet a pic not to share here 🙂

As I was sitting here, the new kid on the block here at The Bucks was walking past me as his day was done. I stopped him to say hi and ask him where he went to high school. He told me RHS. He’s now 19, so he graduated last year if not the year before. A good experience while there, but he also was in the middle of the Covid years while in high school, so that question is a little difficult to answer since Covid ruined school for every kid during those years. In any case, he said he did PSEOP which is two years high school and two years out and about experience in the world of the worker. He said he had a great experience in both phases of his high school years. He is now training here at The Bucks for a leadership position. He was a total delight to talk to and such a nice young man. It was as if I had taught him and we were catching up. He seemed to be in no hurry to get to his car, but he now lives with his girlfriend in St. Paul, so he seems to be mature beyond his years. I shared the second book Andre and I did as it’s in my bag at all times. He thought it was really cool, so I told him I’d put the other two in the bag to share with him next week some day when he had the time here. In any case, when he finally left, all I could think of was what a nice kid he was. And what a nice chat we had. 🙂

With this weather report for tomorrow, it’s a really good time to have streaming services to fill the time, but unfortunately, I am still involved in the tournament and I can’t bring myself to watch anything but the games this weekend. I’d like to at least get in the newest Shogun episode, but that may have to wait until Monday night. And then a new one comes out Tuesday night so I’ll be back where I started! This night will be all about basketball. If there aren’t any exciting games, I may be able to break away but I’m not holding my breath. The tournament appeared in my world when I needed it. Saturdays had turned ugly (yup, the ol’ I Hate Saturdays tune) and college football in the fall and college basketball in March came to save the day for me in 2011 and forward. I also have not made any progress in the book I’ve been reading, so that has to turn around! With basketball starting at 11 on both days this weekend, there’s no time. I get up and today was cartoons and Wild Wild West and tomorrow it’s The Flintstones and The Jetsons before basketball starts. Golly, Batman…what’s a guy to do?!

Well, time to leave The Bucks and go home and have a little lunch and then bond with the little furry boy. I’ve been thinking of the people who I know who are already off on their spring break, miles and miles away from a Winter Storm Warning. Some people got real lucky in the timing of their trip. Others, not so much. My horror movie buddy’s mom was heading to Wisconsin tomorrow to spend a few times with her friends in the Dells, but she cancelled when the news of the storm hit the streets. Too bad. But, it will be there another day and it’s only 220 miles or so in a car so … 🙂

I hope you’ve had a good weekend thus far, that tomorrow just allows (or forces) you to simply relax. Nothing you can do about it, so do nothing about it! Sounds like you won’t even have to shovel cuz the rain may very well wash the snow away. We’ll see how that all plays out. Until Sunday night. Ho. Ho. Ho.

G’Night!

(P.S. Just breaking…I threw in a load of clothes to be washed earlier and guess what. My washer wouldn’t spin in the final cycle of the wash. Grrrr….. So, right now, my clothes are drying in the Rosemount laundromat. Grrrrr….. Centerpoint will be here Tuesday).

Nightly Reflections – Friday, March 22nd, 2024

The lull in the storm has arrived. The sun is out and misleading us all into a false sense of security. Many think this next storm just won’t visualize as others have petered out in previous situations like the one we’re in. “Six to ten inches” isn’t anything to mess with, however. And the fact they’re forecasting major winds and cold, it will likely pile up quickly. Will the snow out there be around for the next storm’s arrival to act as a base to the new stuff? Time will tell. My hometown area and a little closer to Milwaukee saw snow last night too. My brother sent a pic of a familiar watering hole he likes to attend during the basketball tournament. Check it out here in tonight’s pic. No shortage of snow to shovel for those folks. And now, when I look at the forecast for Sunday, they show 5-8 inches during the day and another 5-8 at night. So, by all rights, that would mean a potential by Monday morning of 10-16 inches. And there’s even additional forecast for Monday. My brother’s area looks to be getting rain from our Sunday system. Push come to shove, we need the moisture in the worst way, so it will be a good thing. Frankly, it’s a good thing we’re scheduled to get this mess on Sunday. Many people will be able to stay inside, and I suspect, if it’s really going to be as bad as they seem to think, I suspect some places won’t even bother opening. So, time will tell. 🙂

Happy Friday! As Fridays go, not a bad day, eh? A little less chaotic for me thus far, as opposed to yesterday’s daytime responsibilities. Today, I had a few errands to run and they were run before noon, so once they were done, I was able to enjoy the tournament. As I write this, the tournament was in a bit of a lull so I left to come to Starbucks, which I missed yesterday, and am writing this from there now 🙂 Their patio is snow-covered, a mere layer of what is only going to multiply in two days by inches if not a foot or more. The sun has fought the clouds all afternoon. I ran to the Post Office first today as I wanted to make sure to mail my state tax returns so I could begin the tax return process on their end as soon as possible. Since I have to pay the federal folks, it would be nice to have my state return but I know that will NEVER happen. We have one more week in March and then two weeks into April…that means I’d see a deposit in my account in three weeks and I know that’s never going to happen. So….but, the process will begin next week when the folks at the state level return from the weekend. 🙂 I also mailed my property tax return materials. The envelopes are so thick, I don’t want to assume that one or two stamps will do the job, only to be wrong and then to have wasted the time so I always take them to the PO and let them tell me what I owe for postage. And, it was kind of fun because as I was leaving, I ran into a former guidance counselor from RHS entering the PO. He was a good man and I was close with his son, a member of the Class of ’86. And I always waged this war with the man’s wife. He told me she was sitting in the car and that I should go bother her….our war is well known 🙂 So I went to give her some grief. And in turn, she turned it up on me too. I found out they were on their way to get their son out of the hospital he’s been in for a week. When she told me all what he’s been through, including appendicitis, I was astonished. She said he had been in terrible pain all week with all that was bothering him. Based on what she told me he was in for, I can only imagine. Poor guy. Well, later, I saw him on FB and he was announcing to those worried about him that he was finally home, healing. So, all’s well that ends well…hopefully.

Having done the Post Office, I was off to Target to get a dongle. Ever hear of it? Nor had I. I’d been getting this message from my laptop that it couldn’t deal with the email being open because of something or other. Technology is a word I can spell. Anything beyond that and I’m dumb as a rock. My laughing friend clued me in to the dongle. A weird name. But I understood its purpose, so he told me where to get one and off to Target I went to get one compatible with the Apple MacBook Air. I wanted to charg my laptop before I used it. Right now, I have yet to use it, but as my laptop was charging, I thought I’d just grab it from the house, go write and sip on my latte, and then when I get home, charge it to the max and then start dragging things onto my flash drive that’s connected to the end of the dongle. After a little issue with the dongle at the checkout, I had it in hand and off I went. My last stop before returning home to have lunch as well as feed the King, I stopped to pick up a bag of ice. Now I’m set for armageddon should it happen this weekend. 🙂 And I hung out at home for a while watching a good game.

In all honesty, before coming to The Bucks, I ran to Barnes and Noble, and not even for a book this time. I was hoping they’d have a copy of the March The Atlantic on the stands yet, but just as I feared, they already had April’s issue. My horror movie buddy’s mom sent me a link to an article in the March issue. Here’s a link to the article. She said it was a must-read and it certainly caught my attention when I read the title. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2024/03/teen-childhood-smartphone-use-mental-health-effects/677722/ So, I paged through the April issue and there was an article by a writer who had interviewed the author of the new book, James, that I shared with you last week. I would like to read that too. I guess I will look to see what an online subscription would cost. I already have one for The New Yorker and The NYT so I really don’t need another. I’ll let you in on a little secret now. This is something even my colleagues aren’t aware of. But they will be after tonight. lol When I would get a link to an article we were asked to read for the classroom or just for our careers, for whatever reason, I would click on the link, then I’d print it out because I truly hate reading online anything. It’s the second reason I don’t have a Kindle. Since my printer is defunct, I am left reading things online if they allow me. And not many companies are allowing us to do that any more. So…we’ll see how I fare when I go a-huntin’ for subscription information. If I was still at school, I’d go to the library and simply take their copy of The Atlantic and copy the pages I needed for this article. And the one in April. I miss that convenience 🙂

The evening will likely be basketball, and I’m fine with that. And tomorrow and Sunday will also be that. I can most assuredly say I won’t leave the house on Sunday. Unless this storm fizzles and we get rain, well, I don’t see that happening now, so I’ll just stick with the plan to hunker on down and watch basketball and enjoy not having to go anywhere. In one week and one day, we’ll be sitting on April 1st. No worries. Actually, four weeks from tonight, you’ll find me sitting in the Eagan High School press box at 6:00, welcoming everyone to a new season of 4th-6th grade EAA track! Let’s hope snow is nowhere near the forecast by then!

By the way, we are now six days from the first pitch of the baseball season! So excited! Brewers and Twins play each other April 2nd and 3rd in Milwaukee. That’s the earliest they’ve ever played each other! July 20th and 21st, the Brewers will be here to play another two games against the Twins. Fun to be thinking about baseball again. So many good things come with the thought of baseball. This Thursday night, when I crawl into bed, my DVD I’ll choose to listen to as I doze off will be what it is every year on opening day (night)! Damn Yankees! Never gets old! I’m outta here. Time to get back for more basketball. Baadgers play the final game tonight on CBS. About 8:30. Hoping for a good game and a win so we can play again Sunday. My brackets are doing ok. My percentage of accuracy at the moment is 66.9%. No earth-shattering upsets yet, but the tournament is still young. Anything can happen on the opening weekend, and there’s still two-plus days left in this weekend 🙂 Enjoy your Friday night and Saturday and we’ll check back in here tomorrow night to see how you’re doing on the eve of the biggest storm of our season. And the only one. lol

G’Night!